These people tech trends will grab your attention in 2019

Now that the holiday season is behind us, we’re firmly in the “projections for the New Year” season. Seemingly every company and expert are clamoring to share their predictions for 2019.

Allow us to throw our hat in the ring.

As people tech continues to evolve at lightning speed, keeping up can be difficult. Then, there’s the need to process and filter to understand which advancements are actually relevant to your business.

Rather than scour the web for headlines and spend hours reading as many articles as possible, we’ve identified the three top people tech trends for 2019 that are worthy of your time, attention and effort.

Keep these people tech trends on your radar this year.

1. Talent engagement will now span FIVE generations.

There are more Generation Z workers right now than Generation X, and they are here in full force. To the tune of 61 million workers, in fact. By the end of the year, expect Gen Zers to make up 35% of your workforce. With five generations now firmly ensconced in your workplace, your candidate engagement and contractor care efforts need to meet the unique needs of many different types of individuals. Here are just a few of the ways their needs may differ:

Generation Z is at the cusp of technical innovation. Personalized messages via chatbot and text are likely to reach them and garner a response.

Millennials are accustomed to sharing messages with their teams via Slack, but also check their texts throughout the day and regularly check their inboxes.

Generation X still spends copious amounts of time in their inboxes and on Facebook, but are also addicted to their smartphones, and can be reached via text.

Baby boomers are an increasingly large part of the Facebook audience, so reaching them via Messenger is an excellent way to cut through the clutter and reach them where they spend their time. They’re used to picking up the phone or sending an email when they need something, so don’t be afraid to contact them using more traditional methods.

Traditionalists may have set up Facebook pages and email accounts, but are much more likely to be reached (and respond) on the phone or even through the mail. Nearly half of adults 65+ now carry smartphones to connect with their children and grandchildren, and can also be reached via (limited) text messages.

2. Automation will no longer be considered optional.

At its most basic, automation saves your company time. And of course, time equals money. The most obvious benefit speaks for itself.

But going beyond time savings, automation makes your team more efficient, less error prone and due to less time spent on tedious tasks, leads to happier employees.

Yet, despite an increase in data showing the potential positive impact of automation on staffing firms and the availability of resources (like Sense) to simplify the design and implementation automation, 40% of staffing firms skip automation in areas like candidate engagement, selection or screening.

Our industry has gone beyond the acknowledgement of automation and its benefits, and has moved instead toward automation as a necessity for the survival and ability to thrive in 2019 and beyond.

3. Personalization will be even more important for candidates and contractors.

Today’s talent is more demanding than ever of recruiters, staffing firms and employers. They understand their value in the marketplace, and want to be treated as individuals.

Personalization is key.

Think about it this way - personalization is affecting our experience with every type of business. From ordering our coffee to being exposed to online ads and everything in between, experiences are being tailored precisely to our needs, wants and likes. More than simply referring to us by name, personalization now encompasses a bevy of possibilities (and opportunities) for organizations to reach and engage its customers.

Aside from your clients, candidates and contractors are your customers. Are you communicating with them in the ways they prefer to be reached?

When you focus on reaching and converting candidates and temps individually rather than collectively, you have the power to massively impact your contractor churn and candidate engagement rates, among many other metrics. It is literally the tip of the iceberg! With candidate engagement and contractor care technologies becoming increasingly accessible and easy to implement for staffing firms, now is the time to jump on this trend, as it is poised to take center stage in the New Year.

Implement the trends that really matter to your staffing firm.

It’s no surprise that tech-focused trends are again prominent within the staffing industry. Luckily, Sense can help you quickly ascend to the forefront of our industry and provide exceptional experiences to your candidates and contractors, while empowering your recruiters and marketing teams to focus their time and attention on what they do best.